In this dissertation, I describe spectroscopic studies of jet-cooled polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and one nitrogen substituted PAH (PANH) using pulsed field zero kinetic energy (ZEKE) photoelectron spectroscopy and resonantly enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) spectroscopy. Recently, there has been a demand for far-infrared (FIR) spectral information of astrophysically relevant molecules...
We report vibrational information of both the first electronically excited state and the ground
cationic state of jet-cooled triphenylene via the techniques of resonantly enhanced multiphoton
ionization (REMPI) and zero kinetic energy (ZEKE) photoelectron spectroscopy. The first excited
electronic state S₁ of the neutral molecule is of A₁' symmetry and...
We report zero kinetic energy (ZEKE) photoelectron spectroscopy of benzo[h]quinoline (BhQ) via resonantly enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) through the first electronically excited state S₁. From the simulated REMPI spectra with and without Herzberg–Teller coupling, we conclude that vibronic coupling plays a minor but observable role in the electronic excitation to...
We report zero kinetic energy (ZEKE) photoelectron spectroscopy via resonantly enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) for benzo[e]pyrene. Extensive vibronic coupling between the first electronically excited state and a nearby state allows b₂ symmetric modes to be observed which would normally be Franck-Condon (FC) disallowed. These vibronic modes are comparable in intensity...
We report zero kinetic energy (ZEKE) photoelectron spectroscopy of benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) via resonantly enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI). Our analysis concentrates on the vibrational modes of the first excited state (S₁) and those of the ground cationic state (D₀). Similar to pyrene, another peri-condensed polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon we have investigated, the...
In this dissertation, I describe the experimental investigation of catching ions in superfluid helium droplets. The ultimate goal of our project is to build a coherent electron diffraction apparatus for atomic structure determination from oriented single macromolecules. This involves generating protein ions from electrospray ionization (ESI) and doping them in...
In this dissertation, I present electronic spectra of a few polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs): tetracene, pentacene, pyrene, benzo[g,h,i]perylene and benzo[a]pyrene using resonantly enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) and zero kinetic energy (ZEKE) photoelectron spectroscopy. The work of tetracene and pentacene also combine a laser desorption source with a ZEKE spectrometer, demonstrating...
European hazelnut is a significant crop in the Pacific Northwest, and the US ranks
4th internationally for hazelnut production. Production in the Pacific Northwest is
threatened, however, by the disease eastern filbert blight (EFB) caused by the fungus
Anisogramma anomala (Peck) E. Müller. To meet the challenges faced by the...